You're reading: CNN: Ukraine and Russia step up a confrontation, and the US is not a bystander

CNN: Ukraine and Russia step up a confrontation, and the US is not a bystander

By CNN.

Published Oct. 16, 2018 at 9:08 am

The metal walls of a former truck garage are riddled with bullet holes and tears from shell fragments. While evidence of fierce previous fighting at the Promzona combat area near Avdiyivka is clear to see, the situation was calm on June 21.

Photo by Volodymyr Petrov

In Europe, a shadow conflict is capturing headlines: The Salisbury poisonings and the unmasking of alleged Russian agents in the Netherlands suggest a return to Cold War-style spy games between Russia and the West.

In Ukraine, the picture is more stark. A hot war is continuing in the eastern Donbas region, and the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv appears set to escalate.